Gas fired barbecue grills are commonly mounted on wheeled carts and are fueled by LP gas, such as liquid propane gas, from a tank mounted on the cart. Typically, an LP gas tank is mounted on a supporting strut or on a lower shelf of the cart, usually on one side or the other of the cart, which tends to balance the normally top heavy cart/grill assembly and, by mounting the tank to the side of the cart, provides both easy access for removing and replacing the tank. Such mounting also provides a cooler environment for the tank than a central location under the grill. As noted, liquid propane is used to fuel the barbecue grill and when the tank has been emptied, it is removed from its mounted position upon the cart and transported to a refilling station. After the tank has been refilled, it is then mounted beneath the grill and reconnected to a gas regulator hose assembly, whereupon the grill may be utilized for barbecuing once again.
Most grills include a means for securing the LP gas tank to the barbecue grill cart. This has been accomplished by seating the LP gas tank on a strut or on the bottom shelf assembly of the grill cart in any suitable manner, such as with mounting clips, or other receiving means. The top of the tank is then typically secured with a plurality of clips, springs, or other means, some of which may be incorporated into a fuel gauge. Other methods used for securing LP gas tanks to grill carts have been to encircle the LP gas tank with a belt or strap, as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,949,701 issued to Krosp, et al., and U.S. Pat. No. 4,984,515 issued to Pivonka, respectively, or to mount the LP gas tank upon clips supported upon a leg of the grill cart as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,076,252 to Schlosser, et al.
Although the prior art teaches what appear to be relatively simple methods of securing LP gas tanks to barbecue grill carts, there are certain disadvantages in the prior art. The belt or strap method used with encircling a gas tank, as disclosed in Krosp, et al. and Pivonka, may not provide the option of utilizing a fuel gauge in combination with the tank support. The clip method for retaining an LP gas tank upon a grill cart, as disclosed in Schlosser, et al. requires the person or persons wishing to replace the LP gas tank upon the grill cart to lift a filled propane gas tank a considerable distance and place it upon two clips supported upon a leg of the grill cart above the bottom shelf of the grill cart and below the grill assembly. The bottom shelf or struts of the grill cart cannot be utilized to partially support the LP gas tank during the time in which it is being secured to the cart. Moreover, the mounting clips disclosed in Schlosser, et al. engage both the bottom rim of the LP gas tank and the carrying handle in the upper collar of the LP gas tank, which thus may require consumers to lift the tank without benefit of using the hand hold in the tank collar to place the tank in position on the clips above the bottom shelf of the grill cart, prior to lowering the tank down onto the mounting clips. Thus, the need exists in the art for a means to securely and easily fasten and remove an LP gas tank for a barbecue grill which can be accomplished with a minimum amount of lifting of filled LP gas tanks and which secures the tank so that it can not be dislodged during normal use of the grill.